Final: Smithson Valley 30, Southwest 14

Just settling into our seats in the Alamodome pressbox for today’s Class 5A Division II playoff game between Smithson Valley and Southwest.

The difference between the two schools couldn’t be more stark — Southwest is playing in the third round for the first time in its 57-year history, while Smithson Valley considers it a failure if it doesn’t make it at least this far.

Point-blank — the Dragons are going to have to play a near-perfect game to win today. Their punishing style should serve them well, but as they’re probably about to find out, the Rangers won’t back down from a street fight.

It’s in Southwest’s interest to make this as short a game as possible by controlling the ball. The Rangers aren’t brimming with offensive talent, but they’ve proven to be adept at manufacturing points with what they’ve got. As such the Dragons are going to have to keep the ball out of their hands and limit mistakes.

The latter can’t be stressed enough — Smithson Valley absolutely feasts on errors, no matter how minute. Even just one or two (turnovers, blown coverages, whatever) will be exceptionally hard for the Dragons to overcome.

They’ve met challenge after challenge under third-year coach Matt Elliott. We’ll see if they’re up to the one they face today. Stay tuned for updates at the end of every quarter…

First quarter, SV leads 7-0

Southwest has gouged the Rangers for a big run or two, but otherwise haven’t been able to do any damage on the scoreboard. Its best chance came on the opening drive, which took the Dragons to a third-and-3 on the SV 43. An errant pass and a botched snap on fourth down ended the possession. Smithson Valley, aided by an iffy pass interference penalty, drove 57 yards for the opening touchdown, a 10-yard run by Robbie Mecke.

The Rangers are really pulling out all the stops with some exotic reverses — even more than usual — and a reverse option pass on third-and-long that produced the aforementioned penalty. Two obvious advantages so far for SV — special teams, as expected, (the Dragons were fortunate not to have their first punt blocked) and the passing game. Southwest is really struggling in the latter category.

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No sooner than I type that, James Delgado throws an absolutely perfect 55-yard spiral to Aaron Kelley streaking behind two SV defenders for Southwest’s first TD. That cuts it to 14-7, SV; we’ll provide more second-quarter details at the half.

HALFTIME, SV leads 20-14.

So much for Southwest not being able to pass the football.

Down by 13, having just given up a short TD drive following their second botched fourth down of the half, the Dragons march 73 yards in little more than two minutes to slice the deficit to six. Delgado capped the drive with another beautiful TD pass to Kelley, this one for 35 yards to the corner of the end zone.

All in all, even considering they’re down and will kick off to start the second half, a very solid first half for the Dragons. They’ve taken a few punches in the mouth — notably the two failed fourths, both of which led to SV TDs — yet they’re right in the thick of things.

A word of caution, though. It only gets harder and harder as the game wears on against SV. What works in the first quarter probably won’t in the fourth. Even with momentum on their side, they still have a ton of work to do in order to claim what would be the biggest victory in their history.

A quick note — at first glance, Elliott’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 27 midway through the second quarter was downright baffling. Especially when the Rangers stuffed Stephen Salinas for a 3-yard loss, setting up a 1-yard sneak by Jacob Brown that put SV up 20-7.

In hindsight, the gamble was actually pretty logical. Best case scenario, the Dragons convert and maintain possession. Middling scenario, the Rangers have the short field with a chance to build on their lead. Worst case, the Rangers block the punt, as they nearly did on Southwest’s first attempt, and get an even shorter field.

So when all the factors are weighed, you can easily see what Elliott was thinking and why.

THIRD QUARTER, SV leads 20-14

A lot of positives for the Dragons, but still SV leads, with possession at the Southwest 40, as the quarter ends.

Dragons linebacker Jonathan Rodriguez recovered his second fumble of the game to thwart the opening drive of the second half. The Dragons drove to the Smithson Valley 21, converting on a fourth-and-11 at one point, before stalling out on fourth at the SV 21.

Just to show the kind of reckless abandon the Dragons are playing with, it was their fifth fourth-down attempt of the game (they’ve converted 2).

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Taylor Cowart chips in a 29-yard field goal, giving SV a 23-14 advantage with 8:21 left in the fourth. Southwest’s margin for error, already razor-thin, is that much smaller.

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That could do it. The Dragons just failed on their sixth fourth down on their own 25 with about six minutes remaining. Delgado had Adrian Guerra over the middle but threw behind him. Another score should guarantee another trip to the regional finals for Smithson Valley.

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Jacob Brown just hit Garrett Renken for a 20-yard TD to give the Rangers what would appear to be an insurmountable 16-point lead with 4:25 left. A beautiful play — Brown pump-faked to suck up the cornerback, then launched a long pass into the end zone that Ranken stretched out to grab with his fingertips.

Great, great effort by Southwest today. But just a little too much of everything from the Rangers.

FINAL, SV 30-14

Sorry for the delay with the final; had to run down and glean some knowledge from the participants.

The Dragons didn’t really do anything wrong; SV was just better. As expected, Elliott acknowledged that the heavy gambling on fourth down was an attempt to level the playing field, especially on special teams. It’s a tough spot to be in against a team that excels in that facet of the game at such a high level. It affects the entire complexion of the game, as the Rangers proved yet again this afternoon.

I would like send congrats out to Southwest. Y’all had a great season and should be proud of your boys and coaches. Furthermore, of all the teams we have played this year, your fans were the loudest of most supportive of your team. Y’all are class acts and I’m sure you will go far again next year. If some of the blogs on here come across as cocky from SV fans, they are not true SV fans. Coach Hill and the SV community try to display Class-Discipline-Effort-Tradition in everything we do. Anything besides classy postings on here should be ignored. Your team played well and fought a good fight. Good luck to you next year.

I would like send congrats out to Southwest. Y’all had a great season and should be proud of your boys and coaches. Furthermore, of all the teams we have played this year, your fans were the loudest of most supportive of your team. Y’all are class acts and I’m sure you will go far again next year. If some of the blogs on here come across as cocky from SV fans, they are not true SV fans. Coach Hill and the SV community try to display, Class-Discipline-Effort-Tradition in everything we do. Anything besides classy postings on here should be ignored. Your team played well, and fought a good fight. Good luck to you next year.

Good game with SW getting hurt on special team weakness again this year ,hope coach will hire an assistant to teach someone how to punt. I do have to say someone at SW needs to check team’s record since 1998. There have been afew District Titles since then. We kept getting put in Big 5A aganist Semi-Finalist teams in the first round and still hung 3 touchdowns on them each time.If we had had a Coach like Elliott back then no telling how far we could have gone. congradulations to coach and team but give previous teams their due respect.

Ranger Fan: Thank you for your kind words, and congratulations on your victory. The Rangers definitely played a skillful game. I hope we meet again next season. Perhaps things will end differently then. Seriously, though, I have to say, I am impressed with the gracious attitude of the Rangers and their fans. Best of luck to you guys, and I hope you take it all the way. You deserve it.

WOW, WHAT A GAME! I have to admit, I expected this game would be over soon after kickoff. That defense Southwest put on the field was physical, quick, and VERY well prepared! Their offense struggled most of the game, except for a couple of plays here and there. I gained a TON of respect for the program coach Elliot is putting together at Southwest High School. If he continues building, they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Congratulations on a great season SW Dragons!

DANG CEASAR! YOU SURE ARE A SORRY EXCUSE FOR AN O’CONNOR PANTHER FAN! YOU GOT THE CRAP BEAT OUT OF YOU, FAIR AND SQUARE. GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON. QUIT TRYING TO VERBALLY BEAT DOWN THE RANGERS AND THEIR FANS! YOU ARE THE TYPE OF LOSER WHO HAS AN EXCUSE FOR EVERYTHING!

I’m very proud of our team. Southwest students come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, and our players face many obstacles that the usual winners will never experience. Likewise, the usual winners enjoy advantages that our players never have, and probably never will. Southwest, like so many other schools, does not enjoy equitable funding and resources. Considering all of the mitigating factors, I think the Dragons have done quite well for themselves – solely through sheer grit, hard work, and determination, and against all odds. They certainly do have heart, and I couldn’t be more proud.

CEASAR: I agree…SV fans are lucky. We live in a beautiful part of the world and our kids get to go to a great school. As for being “lucky” not to be in DI. It all balances out. SV had to play Southlake Carroll twice for the State title and they got beat by Katy (who won the State title that year) in the State Semis. All you can do is play whoever is on the other side of the ball. Good luck to you, Caesar. I hope your team gives SV a good scrimmage next year.

I’m very proud of our team. Southwest students come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, and our players face many obstacles that the usual winners will never experience. Likewise, the usual winners enjoy advantages that our players never have, and probably never will. Southwest, like so many other schools, does not enjoy equitable funding and resources. Considering all of the mitigating factors, I think the Dragons have done quite well for themselves – solely through sheer grit, hard work, and determination. They certainly do have heart, and I couldn’t be more proud.

CEASAR: SV’s strength isn’t in their size/speed/etc. They play Coach Hill’s proven system that relies on execution. They just plug and play new players each year. This year’s team had less that 4 returning starters and yet they’re back in the Regional Finals. As long as SV has the best HS coach in the area, going deep in the playoffs will be an annual occurrence.

I’m impressed with the fight SW put up. I thought this game would be decided early. SW fans should be proud of their team. Rangers will get a chance to avenge last year’s meltdown in the Regional Final.

Another online option to hear Texas HS football games is TSRNSPORTS.com. They pick games from each region to broadcast. I imagine that as the number of teams dwindle, they’ll start broadcasting all the games.